Metro Boys Nordic Skier of the Year's strategy: 'Make it hurt more'

After following the trails of his family, Logan Drevlow is breaking a trail of his own.

A Hopkins freshman, he overcame two stress fractures — both occurring in the cross-country season — and a fractured wrist on his way to becoming the 2023-24 Nordic skiing state champion.

Now he's the Star Tribune's Metro Boys Nordic Skier of the Year.

"I was surprised that I was even able to ski because of all these injuries," Drevlow said.

The process actually improved his results. Drevlow's recovery approach included a heavy focus on the upper body for five days a week. His training led to a heightened ability to double-pole in the last leg of his races, a tactic he applied throughout his undefeated season.

With the benefit of having a hill to practice on just five minutes away, Drevlow rediscovered his rhythm and got himself back on track to competing long-distance.

"All that work really paid off," Drevlow said. "I really noticed [the training] helped in Junior Nationals because I was able to win the sprint, which is all double-poling."

Drevlow was the highest-seeded skier in the U16 division of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Cross Country Junior National Championships at Lake Placid, N.Y., in March and lived up to the seeding while representing his club team, Loppet Nordic Racing. He won three races, the mass start, the freestyle and the sprint.

"My mindset going into big races is I can always make it hurt more," Drevlow said. "If I can pull harder, kick harder, and by the end of the race I just want to be dead."

Drevlow indicated his high school career might parallel that of his older sister, Sydney, a high school state champion in 2022 and also a successful competitor nationally and internationally. She hasn't competed in the past two high school state championships.

"Depending on where that takes me, I might not do high school skiing," Logan Drevlow said.